Thanks to the Accenture Human Capital Development Framework

8/3/2019 Thanks to the Accenture Human Capital Development Framework

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Thanks to the Accenture Human Capital Development

Framework, Sinclair Knight Merzenhances its stronghuman capital foundation to achieve better businessperformance Business Challenge Sinclair KnightMerz(SKM), one of the leading professional servicescompanies in the Asia Pacific region, was looking for ways toincrease its ability to manage and grow its workforce

capabilities. In this industry, companies compete largely onthe basis of their peopletheir skills, their ability to provideexcellent client service, and therefore the ability of thecompanys HR function to effectively acquire, develop andretain top talent. In part because it is employee owned, thecompany is intensely focused on its people, emphasizing anopen and independent culture. Yet it is this independencethat poses a challenge. SKM knew that it must keep a fingeron the pulse of its culture at all times. What could thecompany do better? How could it identify and retain its bestpeople? How could workforce planning be done effectively so

the right workforce skills could be developed and marketed toclients? SKM has always been a leader in its industry, butcompany executives knew that maintaining that positionwould take constant vigilance. How Accenture Helped SKMasked Accenture to implement the Accenture Human CapitalDevelopment Framework to help its HR function identify ways

to enhance human capital capabilities. The framework is anassessment and analytic tool that draws on best practicesand Accenture experience in the fields of human resourcedevelopment, learning and knowledge management, alongwith state-of-the-art measurement techniques. The AccentureFrameworkdeveloped as part of Accentures overall

research program to determine the characteristics of high-performance businesses across industries and businessfunctionsis unique in that it helps organizations do morethan look at levels of spending to get a sense of their human


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capital development strengths. It also highlights thecompleteness of the underlying practices and how aligned

they are with the organizations competitive strategy andmission. With the framework, an organization can betterassess its core human capital processes and capabilities, suchas leadership and talent management, identify specifichuman capital needs and then prescribe the rightinterventions that can create high performance. TheAccenture project with SKM was also significant because itwas part of a larger analysis of the Accenture framework,conducted with 19 organizations from a variety of industriesacross the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. Thisanalysis, co-sponsored by Accenture and SAP, showed that

companies can focus their human capital investments inseveral key areas that are more likely than others to helpachieve high performance. Specifically, the testingunderscored the importance of human capital strategy,Merz

supportive work environments, and employee development tothe financial success of any organization. High PerformanceDeliveredThe Accenture analysis affirmed the strength ofmany of SKMs human capital processes. Seven of thethirteen human capital processes scored in the top quartile ofresults. The company also exhibited strong financial results:

its capital efficiency and return on invested capital wereamong the highest of the companies that have thus far usedthe framework. However, the Accenture analysis did morethan just confirm existing strengths. It also identified anumber of areas in which further improvements could gainthe company vital competitive advantages in terms ofworkforce performance. Although the HR function had manybest practices in place, there were a number of importantdiscoveries for continual improvement of HRs impact on thebusiness. One was the importance of workforce planning and


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recruitment. Data collected from the framework revealed, forexample, that those organizations with more effective

recruiting capabilities have superior workforce performanceand employee engagement.. As a consequence of workingwith Accenture on this initiative, the HR department furtherreviewed its methods of recruiting top talent, and put in placean internal capability in key geographies. The initiative hasbeen immediately effective; it has reduced time to recruit keystaff, increased the firms ability to handle large recruitingassignments, and significantly increased the satisfaction ofmanagers with the HR recruiting service. The initial pilotprogram has been expanded to more geographies. Anotherexample relates to a critical HR process found to be strongly

linked to business results learning and development.Through the study with Accenture, SKM learned that it had amuch lower investment in learning and development thanother benchmark companies. With this information, SKMchose to double its investment in learning and developmentover three years, with a significant increase in the first year.

SKM executives also learned thatwhile some of its programs are leading initiatives, staff (oremployees in non-managerial roles) had a lower level ofknowledge about these programs than was expected. Thisfinding prompted HR to increase its communication to staffand review its method of communication of programs to

supplement the preferred method of communication throughmanagers. The employee engagement results from theframework implementation echoed a number of things thecompany had found in its own internal surveys. Leadershipdevelopment continues to be a focus item to improveemployee engagement, as does rewards and recognition.According to SKMs vice president of HR, the AccentureHuman Capital Development Framework has deliveredimportant insights about aligning human capital processeswith business results. The framework provided us an effective


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method of determining where we should most focus ourresources and energy to have the best impact on the

business. About Accenture Accenture is a globalmanagement consulting, technology services and outsourcingcompany. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenturecollaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deepindustry and business process expertise, broad globalresources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilizethe right people, skills and technologies to help clientsimprove their performance. With more than 100,000 peoplein 48 countries, the company generated net revenues ofUS$13.67 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2004. Its

home page is www.accenture.com.Copyright 2004 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture,its logo, and Accenture High Performance Delivered aretrademarks of Accenture.

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Thanks to the Accenture Human Capital Development Framework